05 August 2015
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Dr Manzoor Alam, the newly appointed Postmaster of Sanquhar Post Office in Dumfriesshire
The world’s oldest post office in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, recently reopened thanks to the hard work of a keen philatelist and postal historian who is now serving postmaster and planning to open a postal museum on the premises. ...
The world’s oldest post office in Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway, recently reopened thanks to the hard work of a keen philatelist and postal historian who is now serving postmaster and planning to open a postal museum on the premises.
Recognised by the Universal Postal Union and the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest post office in the world, the Sanquhar Post Office dates back to 1712. The building started out as a staging post for mail carriages, owned by Abraham Crichton, with the old stables behind the branch thought to have once provided a resting place for horses drawing the mail carriages.
The future of the post office was uncertain following the news in 2014 that it was to be sold by owners Penny and Richard Murphy, but now Dr Manzoor Alam has purchased the property, becoming the sixteenth Sanquhar Postmaster.
Dr Alam said: ‘I am very pleased to be appointed the new postmaster of Sanquhar Post Office and proud to be preserving the heritage of this post office, which has been here for more than 300 years. The post office provides vital products and services to the residents of Sanquhar, and is also a key part of Scotland’s postal history. My ambition is to promote the rich heritage of the past by establishing a postal museum – the only one in Scotland – and combining it with a modern business, securing this wonderful post office for future generations.'
Read an interview with Dr Manzoor Alam in the September 2015 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart.
Recognised by the Universal Postal Union and the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest post office in the world, the Sanquhar Post Office dates back to 1712. The building started out as a staging post for mail carriages, owned by Abraham Crichton, with the old stables behind the branch thought to have once provided a resting place for horses drawing the mail carriages.
The future of the post office was uncertain following the news in 2014 that it was to be sold by owners Penny and Richard Murphy, but now Dr Manzoor Alam has purchased the property, becoming the sixteenth Sanquhar Postmaster.
Dr Alam said: ‘I am very pleased to be appointed the new postmaster of Sanquhar Post Office and proud to be preserving the heritage of this post office, which has been here for more than 300 years. The post office provides vital products and services to the residents of Sanquhar, and is also a key part of Scotland’s postal history. My ambition is to promote the rich heritage of the past by establishing a postal museum – the only one in Scotland – and combining it with a modern business, securing this wonderful post office for future generations.'
Read an interview with Dr Manzoor Alam in the September 2015 issue of Stamp & Coin Mart.
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